Bringing you the highlights of this week’s TV Guide, New Zealand’s top selling magazine and this website’s papery spiritual grandmother. //

Behind the Scenes at Breakfast:

An insightful look behind the polished veneer of Breakfast by Shaun Bamber. Goes in-depth to bring you what you really want to know about the Breakfast couch (yes, it’s actually filthy). Worth a read if only for this incredible sentence/novella about Ali Pugh’s laugh:

“First, her head comes forward ever so slightly, before rearing back as she lets loose with an open-mouthed guffaw that sounds (in the best possible way) a little like a chainsaw starting up – slowly revving at first, then switching gears to a loud, staccato burst of laughter which eventually just cuts right off as the need for air overwhelms her and she dissolves into slowly-dissipating gasping giggles.”

Twitter Killed the Masculine Star:

The greatest combo of articles ever: the first being a talk with Bear Grylls about how Twitter and Facebook have killed masculinity, the second being NZ stars weighing in on how much they love Twitter. The launch of Bear Grylls’ new reality show The Island With Bear Grylls has come under scrutiny from feminists groups, who criticise the decision to have all-male castaways. I suppose the insinuation is that woman can’t fend for themselves or survive in the wild, but Grylls assures that there will be an all-female season (working title: Gyrrls with Grylls).

In the meantime, Grylls has made himself very concerned with the plight of masculinity in modern society “in the old days, you had your bow and arrow. Now? Everyone’s just Tweeting and Facebooking. How does a man really show masculinity?” Kicking an alligator should do the trick.

Overleaf, there is an appropriately placed killer piece about NZ celebrities and their favourite social media site.

The Best of Mr Telly:

This is the ‘have your say’ part of the TV Guide where New Zealand’s most impassioned television watchers send in their praise/complaints/poems to an amorphous white blob wearing a tie called Mr Telly.

First up we have this interesting Coach Trip to televisual Pun Town by Karen from Hamilton:

Really pushing it with the “long for your own Masterchef” there Karen.

Other highlights include Sam from Auckland and Heather from Nelson’s endless letter spat about whether or not Jesus Christ Superstar is an accurate representation of Jesus and Judas, and Mike from Mosgiel complaining about the lack of blood on war victims in Anzac Girls. Heads up, Mike recommends The Crimson Field for a more accurate representation of gore.

But there’s so much more. An inexplicable interview with Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey about Dumb and Dumber To. A Madam Secretary themed word find. A whole page of cool trivia about American Dad. All within those glossy thin pages. Practically priceless at just $2.20 a week.

Let us end, as always, on an inspirational word of wisdom from one of the fine contributors to Mr Telly. This food for thought comes from Barbara in Paraparaumu:

Thanks for the hours of wondrous entertainment TV Guide, catch you next week.